Buddhism's belief in Anatta (or the non-self, that the self is not actually separate from the whole, and that, when we die, we rejoin the whole) aligns with The Church's belief that the isolated ego is an illusion, and that we are inextricably woven into the fabric of the Creator.
Anicca (or the constant flux of the universe) is a foundational pillar in Buddhism. The Church also believes in the impermanence of everything and that integration and entropy are necessary to reach greater complexity. This is less of a belief than a law of nature.
Dependent Origination, a Buddhist belief that everything exists because of something else, is a view that The Church shares. We believe relationship is the foundation of the universe and life itself. We cannot be separated from billions of years of increasingly complex iterations in chemistry and biology, for example. What makes up life on Earth itself originated from supernovae and we are literally star-children.
The Church's beliefs are somewhat different in regards to Enlightenment, as we view it as emerging from the darkness and into the Light. The Light is simply your authentic, true self, shed of the weight of everything that doesn't serve you. It is a process, something that is not one and done, but ongoing through life, as we are constantly in flux. The modern world expects us to maintain a rigid, unchanging identity, but we allow people to change. We do not expect you to be the same person you were years ago. Forgiveness of our past selves is necessary so we can hold ourselves accountable, heal, and grow.
